Pray No More?

“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you." - Jeremiah 7:16

Jeremiah had a tough job. He tried to convince his people to repent of their sins and obey the Lord. This he did for 40 years. His people never listened. Perhaps that's why they referred to Jeremiah as the weeping prophet. Tears shed for God's people, knowing what awaited them.

"It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." - Hebrews 10:31

God ultimately sent the Babylonians to carry Judah into captivity - punishment for their sins.

As we look at today's sin-filled world, the comparisons between ourselves and the people of Jeremiah's day sound very similar. They sacrificed their children to a false god. We do the same, sacrificing our unborn children to the god of convenience.

The world we live in today seems almost without hope. Injustice after injustice piles up in heaps on the nightly news. Satan claiming victory in most of them. But there is always hope when God is in the picture.

King David wrote the following verses. We need to remember them, and others like them, in the Bible. God is our blessed hope, our ever-present help in times of trouble.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea," - Psalm 8:1-2

Despite all the headlines and distractions in front of our eyes, with God in our hearts we can stand strong in the knowledge that this is not our home. God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. We need to take our eyes OFF of man-made things and events and FOCUS on the accomplishments of the One True God.

We must also remember that God loves us and sent His Son to die in our place and to be resurrected so that we might do the same. This is NOT our home!

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" - Psalm 8:3-4

Who Am I? - Casting Crowns

A Fish Story?

Everyone has heard about Jonah and how he got swallowed by a giant fish. We've also heard about the mission that God gave Jonah: to go to Nineveh. But did you know this? The following is from my study Bible:

The name Nineveh is thought to derive from "ninus," i.e., Nimrod, and means the residence of Nimrod or "nunu" (Akkadian for "fish).

Are you kidding me? Nineveh means fish?

Here's more from the study Bible:

The people worshipped the fish goddess Nanshe (the daughter of Ea, the goddess of fresh water) and Dagon the fish god, who was represented as half man and half fish,

So, Ninevah was named after a fish, and they worshipped fish gods. Interesting. Here's a question for you: Do you think the people of this fish town who worshipped their fish gods, would pay any attention to the words of a man who was vomited out of a giant fish's mouth onto their beach? Effectively "half-man and half-fish"? I'm guessing, yes. Yes, they would!

"And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." - Jonah 2:10

Then this happened:

"The Ninevites believed God." - Jonah 3:5

Here's something else that's interesting. Look at these two verses. See any similarities?

"Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." - Jonah 1:7

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." - Matthew 12:40

The 'three days and three nights' phrases are identical. How about the location? Jonah was 'in the belly of a large fish' while Jesus was 'in the heart (the belly) of the earth.' Very similar.

If these two passages are so similar, what about these similarities?

1. Before Jesus died, He prayed.

"Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” - Luke 23:46

So did Jonah.

2. "From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God, 2saying, “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice." - Jonah 2:1-2

I believe that Jonah died inside the fish! Why?

"The sign of Jonah" that Jesus gave in Matthew's verse above and the crucifixion of Christ are basically the same! Jesus died and was buried right? He descended into hell, right? The "belly" of the earth? If Jonah was foretaste of Jesus and His death and resurrection, shouldn't Jonah have died and been resurrected as well? The Bible doesn't say so.

Both prayed. That's for sure. Jesus died and was resurrected. We don't know if Jonah died or not. Perhaps being swallowed by a fish and vomited onto the beach was only symbolic, but I don't know.

What do YOU think?

The Writing on the Wall

There are many reasons why the Packers lost their playoff game against the 49ers this past Saturday. Most would attribute the loss to special team's failures - a blocked punt and a blocked field goal. But there is another reason. One that dates back years. And the number of his name is 12.

When the Packers won their first Super Bowl Aaron Rodgers was one among many who gave the glory to God for the victory, and not to themselves.

Times have changed, and people have changed - like Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers no longer acknowledges God as his personal Lord and Savior. Big mistake.

I was reading a passage from Daniel the other day when I found myself thinking about Aaron Rodgers and anyone else who ignores the majesty of Almighty God - Daniel 5 - The Writing on The Wall.

King Belshazzar threw a party for 1,000 people. Drinking, concubines, you get the picture. They began to worship their gods of gold and silver. That's when a severed hand appeared and began writing on the wall. That frightened the king and everyone else in the room!

No one could read the writing on the wall, so they called for Daniel. Daniel first told a story about the king's father. Verse 20.

"But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory." - Daniel 5:20

Doesn't that sound like Aaron Rodgers and his failing yet again to win, much less even GET to, the Super Bowl? Here is Daniel's interpretation of the writing that was on the wall.

“This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN

26 “Here is what these words mean:

MENE: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 TEKEL: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28 PARSIN: Your kingdom is divided and given to others (the Medes and Persians).” - Daniel l5:25-28

The days of Rodgers tenure with the Green Bay Packers is about to come to an end. Rodgers has definitely been found lacking when it comes to playoff wins. He and the Green Bay Packers will become divided (if the Packers are smart) and the Packers can get back to building a quality team, not around one or two players, but around God.

After interpreting the king's dream, Daniel was given a purple robe and a gold chain. Hmm. Purple and gold. Perhaps Rodgers will get traded to the Vikings. A place where old quarterbacks go to die.

Daniel 5

 

The Threshing Floor

"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” - Matthew 3:12

That verse sounds like a description of what farmers did back in the day before there were threshing machines. And it is. But it is also a description of what Jesus will do to all the people of the earth. Guess what? We're the wheat!

When the wheat was harvested back in Jesus' day, it was brought to the threshing floor - a big, flat, hard place. The wheat was then arranged in a big circle and the wheat was separated from the chaff (the material surrounding the grains). This was done by crushing is with a weighted object that was pulled behind a donkey.

When the separating process was over the chaff was removed from the wheat. This was done by throwing it into the air with a winnowing fork and the wind blew the chaff away (a much light material). All that was left was the valuable wheat. The chaff was then discarded and burned.

But what was Jesus talking about in the verse above? He's talking about us. We're either the wheat or the chaff. Which one do YOU want to be? I'm choose the wheat. This verse was a parable of the end times.

I was thinking about this whole winnowing process in church yesterday as our pastor described it. I get the part about separating the wheat and the chaff. I'm caught on the grinding of the grain part. It occured to me that this parable could also be about us and our sin.

When a farmer sows his seed, the seed can do nothing until it germinates and takes root. To grow the seed needs water, sunshine and nutrients in the soil. But note this: the wheat that grows does so encased in the chaff already. The chaff surrounds the grain from birth so to speak.

Isn't the chaff like our sin? Jesus removes our sin by "grinding us" through this life we all live and wonderful grace. The whole maturing process of a human is different for every one of us. Yet the process of placing our faith in Christ is pretty much the same.

Sin, Repent, Pray.

We are all born in sin. The chaff surrounds us before we even leave the womb. Sin is a part of who we are. We go through life, learning and growing. Somewhere along the line we mature. We become aware of our sin through God's Word and the conviction of The Holy Spirit. Repentance is the key. We want to get rid of the chaff that surrounds us.

The moment we get that chaff out of our lives, the better off we will be. So, when we see Jesus coming with the winnowing fork in his hand, we can shout for joy! It's time for us to be gathered into His store house - heaven!

Straight Paths

Have you ever been on a road like this? I hope so. Some might say it looks boring, but others would say it's perfect. Like God for example.

"Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." - Deuteronomy 28:14

It's hard to turn to the right or to the left if there are no right or left turns on the road you are traveling.

So, what does God want us to do exactly? Who are these other gods? Do they still exist today?

Oh, they most definitely still exist. Think of the road in the picture as a sinless life. What happens if we take our eyes off of the road? Or when we are distracted and not paying attention?

We tend to start weaving, or straying over the centerline, or into the ditch. None of those things are good. Do you suppose that's why God wants us to stay on the straight and narrow highway?

Here's a cool verse.

"And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it." - Isaiah 35:8

What is "the Way" that Isaiah is talking about nere, and why is the word capitalized?

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

If Jesus is The Way, what's the destination? What's at the end of this highway we're on? You know.

The road might look easy. It's all straight. No problem, right? The road gets narrower and more difficult to travel. At a moment's notice, or so gradually that we barely even notice.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Matthew 7:13-14

There is a simple way to navigate this "road of life" we are traveling on. Follow Christ. Follow His example. Let Him drive! When in doubt, pull over and ask for directions (prayer) or check the road map (the Bible). There are so many helps to get us to our desired destination. We just have to remember to use them.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:6

Generations

Here's a challenge for you today. Can you figure out what this is?

I saw something in church on Sunday that made me want to take a picture. However, my quick-thinking brain told me that standing up during the pastor's sermon to do so would have been bad. So, I sketched it.

It's not very good. I'll admit that. But let me tell you what it is and maybe you will be able to figure out why I wanted to memorialize it in my sermon notes.

This is a series of chairs a few rows in front of me at church. There are people sitting in the chairs. Beginning from left to right, a mom, her daughter, the grandmother and the grandfather. You can also see the pastor and his pulpit in the distance.

If you could detect ANY of that before my explanation, congratulations!

The little girl, aged 6 0r 7, is reading her Bible. Her mom told me she only knows few words. But everyone around her, her mother and her grandmother, were reading theirs so that's what SHE wanted to do. And that's what I thought was cool. Three generations of women, all with Bibles in their hands.

This world has a lot of problems in it. Some of those problems are absolutely devastating. But ALL of them can be made better by studying and applying God's Word. People who say, "How can my life get better by simply reading a book?"

The answer to that question has been uttered by moms across the world who are trying to get their children to eat something new.

"How do you know you don't like it if you've never even tried it?"

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

I Will Refine Them

"You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord. 7Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people?" - Jeremiah 9:6-7

Have you ever felt like you were being tested by God? He does that you know. God tests us and refines us. Why? To strengthen us and to make us pure.

I have heard it said that 'justification' (through faith in Christ) is immediate, sanctification takes a lifetime. Sanctification = refinement.

As we read God's Word, we learn new things or are reminded of them. This is refining. God teaches us lessons too as we live our lives. Some of them come with price tags on them. Some can be very costly if we are unwilling to be refined.

Look at the world we are living in today. Do you think we need to be refined? Or do you think it's too late for refinement to take place and God is ready to take His children out of this place and create "a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1)

Chapters two and three of The Revelation of Jesus Christ are letters of refinement to God's churches. Like a good Father, God praised His churches for a few things but then corrected them regaring other things. Consider the church in Ephesus:

“To the church in Ephesus . . . I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." - Revelation 2 1-5

Many of the churches of today have forgotten their first love. The same can be said for many of us as well. Jesus gave us three things to do, given our fallen nature these days.

1. Consider how far we have fallen
2. Repent
3. Do the things we did at first.

As we read the Bible, what things stand out in our hearts that need refining? Is there a particular verse that hits us extra hard? We need to repent and fix our error. Let God refine us. The refinery won't be open that much longer.

The Beast

 

"And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth." - Revelation 13:2

This large Sculpture, called “The Guardian of International Peace and Security,” was placed outside United Nations Headquarters in New York City last month.

It was created by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles and was donated to the UN by the government of Oaxaca, Mexico, in December 2021

"Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle." - Daniel 7:2-4

With all of the "end times" stuff that has been happening lately, is the appearance of this end-times symbol really a surprise? The creators of the sculpture said it was all about ''peace and safety. Does its snarling face REALLY look like peace and safety to you?

Of course, the beast in John's Book of Revelation is symbolic. The beast actually represents a one - world government, controlled the Antichrist who receives his power from Satan himself. Hmm. A one-world government? You mean, like . . . The United Nations?

The following is from a GotQuestions.org article on a one-world government:

'John goes on to describe the ruler of this vast empire as having power and great authority, given to him by Satan himself (Revelation 13:2), being followed by and receiving worship from “all the world” (13:3-4), and having authority over “every tribe, people, language and nation” (13:7). From this description, it is logical to assume that this person is the leader of a one-world government which is recognized as sovereign over all other governments. It’s hard to imagine how such diverse systems of government as are in power today would willingly subjugate themselves to a single ruler, and there are many theories on the subject. A logical conclusion is that the disasters and plagues described in Revelation as the seal and trumpet judgments (chapters 6-11) will be so devastating and create such a monumental global crisis that people will embrace anything and anyone who promises to give them relief.'

Interesting. Here's the scripture back-up for the 'peace and safety' reference about the 'peace and security' statue.

"The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." - 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

There's a lot of strange things happening in the world today. People are clamoring for "peace and safety" everywhere you look. We're willing to wear masks and take experimental drugs, all in hopes that we will be saved from the awful plague that has struck the world.

Does God really send plagues on His people? Umm, have you read the Bible? Ever watch The Ten Commandments movie? Ask Rameses!

We haven't seen anything yet.

But let me tell you about Jesus! He is our 'ever-present hope in times of trouble.' Many will look to our political leaders or the coming one-world government for help and hope. They are the blind led by the blind. Our only hope is in The Lord! HE is where our help comes from (Psalm 121).

God offers hope to EVERYONE. All we must do to receive peace and safety in our lives is to repent of our sins, acknowledge that Jesus truly is the Son of God, and trust in Him with all of our hearts. That's it! It sure beats wearing a mask for the rest of our lies and getting shot in the arm every few months.

"God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble." - Psalm 46:1

Eight Below

"Clear skies and sunny" sounds like a wonderful weather forecast. Except here in Wisconsin. During a Wisconsin winter, "clear and sunny skies" means cold weather.

A few days ago, it was eight degrees below zero here. That's cold. You know it's cold outside when you step on the snow in your driveway, and it squeaks.

Thankfully there are things we can do to keep ourselves warm in the winter. We can turn up the heat for one. But that comes with a price. We could add more insulation to our house. That too comes with added cost in addition to forethought and planning.

One thing we do in our house is build a fire. It's not long before everything is all warm and toasty inside. But no matter how hard we try, we cannot do anything about the outside temperature.

Oh, there are global warming people who will tell you otherwise. If we would only get rid of the human race, we would have a much cleaner and safer place in which to live. Except we would all be dead.

There IS something that each of us can do to not only warm ourselves but to warm others as well. Take two minutes and make a list of the people you love. Your list doesn't have to be all inclusive. Now, next to each name, write down something you love about them.

Now it's time to start that fire. Send each person on your list a message, telling them what you just wrote down - what you love about them. Are you starting to feel warm yet? No?

Make another list. Write down the names of people who you struggle with, who give you a hand time, or someone you just can't stand. Think of something you love about THEM. There must be something. Send them a message too.

Do you find it harder to send someone you don't like a message of live? Hmm. Read this:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48

What temperature is your heart today? 98.6? Or is it 8 below?

The Endless River

In my younger days, my friend Chris and I did a lot of whitewater canoeing in Northern Wisconsin. The Namekogan, The Peshtigo, The Flambeau. All great rivers.

We once spent a week canoeing 104 miles down the St. Croix River. The canoeing was good but what happened along the way was what made the journey really interesting.

Camping under the stars, watching a bald eagle catch a fish out of the river, and of course the challenges of the river itself. A trip down any river can bring all sorts of adventure. Life is the same way.

Life is filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, waterfalls and moments of calm, but what this life actually does is it molds us into the person we are to become. Often missed are the events and people that God places along our life's journey to mold us and shape us into who HE wants us to be.

The picture for this story is from the Pink Floyd album The Endless River. Isn't life truly like a river? We travel down it, not knowing what lies around the next bend. It could be good or bad. Either way, it is definitely a journey. However, our earthly journey WILL come to an end.

A life with Christ in it assures us of an ENDLESS journey. After our death, the river calms down and becomes peaceful. It may well resemble the picture from this album - paddling along towards God's celestial city on a river of clouds. Perhaps a breeze in our hair or ruffling our shirt, but we are all on our way to see God. Those of us who believe.

So, enjoy the ride. Paddle when you have to.

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells." - Psalm 46:4

The Faith Pantry

Do you have something like this where you live? This is a picture of the pantry shelves in our basement. I built the shelves to store food and supplies on.

My wife loves finding deals at the grocery store and it's kind of nice having backups on hand for when we run out. It sure beats having to run to the store when it's below freezing like today.

But these shelves are more than a pantry. They are actually a Bible lesson in our basement.

Do you remember the story of Joseph? He interpreted Pharoh's dream which said that seven years of plenty were coming, followed by seven years of famine. During the time of plenty, Joseph stored up food so that when the famine came, they would have enough to eat. Smart man.

"Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure." - Genesis 41:49

This Biblical concept of saving things during a time of plenty is a good one. But the concept goes beyond just food. We should be doing the same thing with our money. I hope you have a bank account with enough money set aside for emergencies. You know, like a famine.

Here's a thought. Do you have enough faith in God stored up for when you go through a spiritual famine or a difficult time in your life? It's a good idea. Faith is something you don't want to run out of when the going gets tough.

If we read our Bibles often enough, we begin to remember stories and verses. We store these things in our hearts. Then, when we go through tough times in our lives, we can remember these truths and apply them to our lives.

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." - Deuteronomy 11:18

God knows we are going to struggle in this life from time to time. That's why He gave us such words as the verse above. And this verse is not merely a suggestion, it's a command!

Build a pantry in your heart. Store God's words upon it for the time when you will need them the most. And should you ever run out, come on over to OUR house. We have plenty.

Be The Light

"Alone in the dark" can be a terrible place to be, if we let it. And sometimes, we DO let it. But we shouldn't take up permanent residence. There is hope.

Our minds tend to wander all over the place. That can be bad, but it can also be good. Most of these stories come from early morning wanderings.

Staying in the dark though can be exceedingly bad. That's where Satan lives. He makes his living off of preying on people at their weakest moments.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8

Have a relationship with Jesus can light up your day, even when you are sitting in the dark. He always seems to provide a thought or use someone to bring a little light into our darkness.

Just this morning I found myself sitting alone in the dark. I had just finished my morning scripture reading when the room lit up. No, it wasn't an angel of the Lord bringing glad tidings. Or maybe it was. It was an in-coming text from a friend.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

We all need light in our lives to survive. We're like plants that way. But unlike plants however, we can receive light by giving light to others. Only God could arrange something like that.

Shine your light into someone else's life. By doing just that one simple thing you not onnly with make THEIR life brighter, but you will light up YOUR life as well.

Be The Light!

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34

Our Need for Desperation

The Book of Psalms is full of praises to God, but the thing I noticed most after reading it this time was the desperation of some of the words. Psalm 88 is a typical example.

"Day and night I cry out before You. For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol (the place of the dead). 4I am counted among those descending to the Pit  (Hell). I am like a man without strength. 5I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care." - Psalm 88:1-5

That guy was desperate in his prayer! Yet he is calling out to God for help.

When things go bad in our lives, do we turn to God for help? Or do we try to press on our own?
Pretty much the entire Book of Psalms is an example of what we SHOULD be doing in our desperation. Seeking God in prayer!

The prayers of desperation in Psalms are often followed by words and songs of praise to God. Why is that? Was it because God answered David's prayer of desperation? I think it was!

Do we pray desperately? Are we on our knees, praying to God, because we have exhausted everything else we could think of? Or is it the FIRST thing we do?

Our prayers should not be filled with desperate words, yet they often are. Why? Could it be because we tried doing something on our own, without God?

In the Old Testament kings often "inquired of the Lord" before they went off to battle. If the Lord wasn't with them they either failed miserably or they didn't even go.

Do we 'inquire of the Lord' before we make our decisions? Or do we make our choices, hoping that they are what God wants us to do?

These are desperate times that we live in right now. And things are going to get worse. God wants us to turn to Him, not only in our desperation, but He also wants us to turn to Him in times of plenty.

The key word in that thought is 'turn'. There is a word, often used in the Bible, which literally means 'to turn around'. That word is 'repent'. We will never have to repent if we always make God-honoring choices in life and let Him guide us through every decision we make.

Seek Him, trust Him, rely on Him, love Him, and obey Him.

Don't Look Back

Today is the first day of a brand-new year. 2021 is finally over and 2022 has arrived. So, what are we going to do with it? What is going to be different about this year, compared to the last one?

Lots of people make New Year's resolutions. They have goals they'd like to reach or things they'd like to see happen. Most od our New Year's resolutions will end in failure. We tried but, better luck next year.
Most of our resolution goals will fail because we couldn't make a change in our lifestyle, or we couldn't maintain the change. We revert back to what once was.

2021 was a year filled with regrettable, forgettable things. Let's turn the page....no, let's close the old book and open a new book.

We need to ask ourselves two questions. Go get a piece of paper and a pencil.

Question #1 - WHAT are the things we would like to change? Make a list.
Question #2 - WHY do we want to change them?

Example: What: I want to lose weight. Why: I want to be healthier.

Now, keep asking the 'WHY' question.

Q - WHY do you want to be healthier?
A - Umm, so I won't die?

Q - WHY don't you want to die?
A - Gee, I think it's because I'd rather live.

Q - WHY do you want to live?
A - Well, it sure beats dying!

Well, then make the change! And stick with it. The key is this: Never look back.

When two angels came to get Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the gave this instruction:

"As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” - Genesis 19:17

Don't look back. That's where most of our resolutions and lifestyle changes fail. We look back. We remember how comfortable our old lifestyle was. We remember how good those Christmas cookies were. We look back.

"But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." - Genesis 19:26

Lot's wife looked back at her old life, and she died right on the spot.

Life is a series of decisions. Ask yourself questions before you make your choices. Make sure they are the right choices, not in YOUR eyes, but in God's eyes.

If God's name does not appear in the answers to our life questions, we need to ask ourselves one more question.

"Why not?"